Why You Should Read This Book

A condensation of The Acts of the Apostles

This condensation is not a paraphrase. The author’s own words are retained throughout, except when it has been necessary to substitute a proper noun for a pronoun to avoid confusion, to change a verb tense to maintain meaning and continuity, or to supply a word or phrase to make a sentence read more smoothly.

Why You Should Read This Book

The book of Acts was written by “the beloved physician,” Luke, a Gentile convert. In the book God clearly indicates that the church in every age shall experience the presence of the same Spirit who came with power at Pentecost and fanned the gospel message into flame.

The abruptness with which Acts ends deliberately suggests that the thrilling narrative is unfinished. The acts recorded in this remarkable book are in the truest sense the acts of the Spirit. At Pentecost the praying disciples were filled with the Spirit and preached the gospel with power. When the church suffered intensely at the hands of Roman and Jewish persecutors, it was the Spirit who sustained the believers and kept them from error.

The future will witness a bestowal of spiritual power exceeding that of Pentecost. The work of the gospel is not to close with a lesser display of the Holy Spirit’s power than marked its beginning.

It is our hope and prayer that you, the reader, may participate in this reenactment of the glorious scenes of the early church and be preserved from the subtle counterfeits of the enemy of souls.

The Publishers. [9]